Exodus 19:2

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Exodus 19:2 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And when they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And when they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount.
Exodus 19:2 — American Standard Version

Context — Exodus 19

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
2And when they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“For they were departed from Rephidim, etc.] After they had fought with Amalek, and came to the western part of the mount to Horeb, where the rock was smitten for them; and they were come from that now, and encamped at Sinai, after Jethro had paid a visit to Moses: and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in this wilderness; that is, of Sinai, as in the preceding verse: and there Israel encamped before the mount; Mount Sinai, from whence the desert or wilderness was called. This, as Jarchi says, was on the east side of the mount; Horeb and Sinai were but one and the same mountain, which had two tops. Horeb was on the western side, near to which lay the plain of Rephidim; and…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“were come to the desert of Sinai--The desert has its provinces, or divisions, distinguished by a variety of names; and the "desert of Sinai" is that wild and desolate region which occupies the very center of the peninsula, comprising the lofty range to which the mount of God belongs. It is a wilderness of shaggy rocks of porphyry and red granite, and of valleys for the most part bare of verdure. and there Israel camped before the mount--Sinai, so called from Seneh, or acacia bush. It is now called Jebel Musa. Their way into the interior of the gigantic cluster was by Wady Feiran, which would lead the bulk of the hosts with their flocks and herds into the high valleys of Jebel Musa, with…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The wilderness ... the desert of Sinai - If the mount from which the law was delivered be the rock of Ras Safsafeh, then the spacious plain of Er Rahah would be the “desert” of Sinai (see Exodus 5:17). return to 'Top of Page'”
Read attributed excerpt →
Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“19:2 The arrival at Sinai was a fulfillment of the promise made earlier to Moses at this same spot (3:12).”
Read attributed excerpt →
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Rephidim: Exo 17:1, Exo 17:8 the desert: Mount Sinai, called by the Arabs Jibbel Mousa, the Mountain of Moses, and sometimes by way of eminence, El Tor, the Mount, is a range of mountains in the peninsula formed by the gulfs of the Red Sea. It consists of several peaks, the principal of which are Horeb and Sinai; the former, still called Oreb, being on the west, and the latter, called Tur Sina, on the east, at the foot of which is the convent of St. Catherine. Dr. Shaw conceives that the wilderness of Sinai, properly so called, is that part which is to the eastward of this mount; so that the removal of the Israelites from Rephidim, which was on the West, to the desert of Sinai, was only…”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Sources and verification